The Indian High Commission in Islamabad will soon be headed by a woman diplomat, a first since Independence. Geetika Srivastava, a 2005 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, will be India's new charge d'affaires in Islamabad.
Ms Srivastava is likely to take up her assignment in Islamabad soon, news agency PTI reported quoting a person familiar with the matter. She will take over the office of charge d'affaires from Dr M Suresh Kumar.
5 points on Geetika Srivastava
– Ms Srivastava is presently serving as joint secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) headquarters.
– In charge of MEA's Indo-Pacific division, she takes care of India's multilateral diplomacy with ASEAN, IORA and others.
– Earlier, she served a two-year tenure at the Indian Embassy in China where she also learnt Mandarin.
– She has also served as Director in the IOR Division of the MEA as well as a Regional Passport Officer in Kolkata.
– Ms Srivastava is the latest addition to the “Female Diplomatic Club.” Her appointment comes soon after the United Kingdom (UK) posted its first woman envoy in Pakistan.
Both Indian and Pakistani High Commissions in Islamabad and New Delhi are headed by their charge d'affaires. This came after Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties following India's decision in August 2019 to withdraw the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Since then, there has been no full-time high commissioner in Islamabad and New Delhi. Only the middle-level diplomats have been posted as charge d'affaires.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has named Saad Warraich as the new charge d'affaires for India. Saad Warriach will replace Aizaz Khan, the current charge d'affaires at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. It is also reported that the two countries have already exchanged diplomatic visas for the new positions by both parties.
In the last 76 years, India has always been represented by male diplomats in Pakistan. Since 1947, when New Delhi sent Sri Prakasa as the first Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad, there have been 22 heads of mission. Ajay Bisaria, the last Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad, was withdrawn following Pakistan's decision to downgrade the diplomatic ties with India. This came after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.